The Sun. — London, England, 1826-05-10 00:00:00

s IN property which' haiad created by his literary and political talent. The= regulations Which gave to the Indian Government the power of granting or of Withdrawing the licence for Newspapers, had been registered inthe Supreme Court by Sir F. M`Naughten, who de - 'clued that be recorded them only because be felt stained that they Would not be levelled against existing literary property. 'm Not • Withstandieg this declaration, however, after repeated attempts to 'harass foul injure the establishment of Mr. Buckingham, his publication was at length suspended by order of the Govern -enent. This step was 'fitness/ed by much negociation for the re newel of the licence ; but, after a considerable lapse of time, - the Government distinctly 'mall that 'they would, never renew the lieenee for the Calcutta Jourtal, so long as Mr. Bucking ham, or any of his Co-proprietors, had any interest in, or contned over it ; and they afterwards went so far as to de clare, that'the licence would be granted to no other person than pr. Mutton, the son-in-law of a Member of Council. Thus did the Gsvernmeut by an arbitrary act either annihilate the copy right, or transfer it to a favourite of. their own. The petitioner stated; that in consequence of these proceedings, he had lost a valnable property, and was besides involved in debts to the amount of 10,0001. He (the Noble Lord) would only mew one or two observations on these statements of the petitioner. The con shmet of the Indian Government had been supposed to have the sanction of the Marquis of Hastings.. From letters he had seen from that Noble Lord, he could not suppose this to be correct. He could not but consider the case as one of very great hard ship. The most rigid censorship upon the press would have been preferable to these regulations, if they were to be employed, as in the present instance, to the destruction of property. Lord Hastings hail indeed thought this kind of power held over the heads of Editors a beneficial mode of carrying on the Indian e• Press; but if he had remained in•lndia, he would not have em ployed it so harshly. His successor, however, did thus employ it. Mr. Buckingham having been encouraged by the notion of a free press to establish this literary property, he (the Noble. Lord) did ,consider its destruction in the manner in which that haul been accomplished, as a dreadfel hardship—as a personal (grievance of fetch magnitude es to demand the interposition of that House. He should therefore, after the petition had been brought up and read, instead of moving that it do lay open the table, move that its contents ,be referred to a Select Committee. Mr. C. W. 'WYNN said, that taken the case of this individual was on a former occasion bConght before the House, . he had de precated anysdittemetsien of the subject, on the ground that an action had been threatened by Mr. Buckingham against Mr. Adams, under whose goverment the transactions had taken platy. Unfortunately, the death of Mr. Adams had rendered it impossible for that action now to •proceed. But he had the most perfect conviction, that if it had gone to issue, , its result would have been the complete vindication of that lamented Gen tlenien, for whose character he could sot express too warmly his admiration and respect. The motion contemplated by the Noble toed was so unusuil on a Petition of this nature, that on further. reflection he thonght the Noble Lord would probably not'peraevere in that intention. The question was now perfectly unshackled, and 6 was fully prepared to meet it. He agreed that here, nosier a free Representative Government, such pub.; licationa would not be dangerous. The case was very different in India. If they thought proper to alter the Government of India, it • was within the competency of Parliament to do vu ;hut an absolute government , such as existed at present - in India, and a free press, could not co-exist. Let them reflect upon what sthe'Covernment of India was. The natives were systematically excludesl:from'eny of its higher functions. Such a Government could not co-exist With a free press. The contemn observation that the natives were entitled' to a share in the Government, which, for instance, would he perfectly innocent in' England, would he perfect firebrand in' India. If charges were brought against a Itepreeentative Government, 'the public assemblies nfl'orded them noprotte . reies to answer etul repel them, the Go vernmeet of belittled no Fetch opportunity. By what means could push acenettinna be tried? What public was there except • the natives to he influenced by them, when the Europeans in India were, for the moat part, Officers of the. Government themselves. lisfere he proceeded further s be would s reed the rzgolations prormilifed bye that Government : for. the guid ance of press. The prohibited any 'animadversions on orders sent out from En ;land by the Ceurt . of Directors, any corn in uts fon the conduct of the. Indian, Government, any strie. terse on the ptestmal coomluct of any Member of the local Geeernment, and any estraets front European publications of a character inecoHiwtent with any of the former probi hithAis The Nubile 1,,0rd haul stated that the petitioner haul no sufficient wanting. He would show, by. extracts frent official letters sent to him by the Secretary of the *Marquis of Hastings, that he had received repeated and solemn warnings of the certain consequences of Ilia conduct. These letters were sent by Order of Council, and with the fall concurrence of Lord Hest info, and the 'could not believe that Noble Lord would have failed on sfinding them obstinately and contemptuously disrem. • garmled,'ln give effect. to the threats they contained. After re peated infractiona of the regulatious, the first notice sent him by Government contained these words That by any'repetition of ii c irniher offeSee . you will forfeit all claim to the protection of t!;m! Governnient; and that you will' subject :yotneelf to be pro ceeded against; under the Act which empowers GoVernment lu sonl you to England, acid to withdraw the licence from your pablicetion." The Right Iletiourable Gentleman then; read ex tesete from throe other notiees,, the last of which said, You are now finally appriZed that if you persevere in -the -course you have hitherto poissied, end indulge in animadversions upon any order of the .Goyerninent, either past or future, )(Our licence will be withdrawn, ereLyou will be sent out of the country." . ....s. After this the Calcutta Journal ventured to animadvert with nnich severity on an appointment made ; by the Government. Merin these .cirettmstarrees:was Mr. Adams to do? It was im tesesible to pass it over unless without bringing contempt upon the eathority of Government,. 'lt was. due to the memory of Mr. Alms to pay that what • be did warm Merely carrying into execu lion the policy of the Marquis of Hastings, and.that severity was nst resorted to till repeated warnings had (seen given in vain. The proper check upon the authorities in India was not the public opinion of belie, hot the public opinion of England. The tees- Asians adopted by the Indian Government are conVantly heist be fore Parliament, and the Noble Lord might at any time move to reSeind those which affected the: press. The declaration of Sir F. MiNaughten' did not apply, ass a new offence haul been commit- Then with regard to the license having passed to the son-in-law of a Memher •of •t3ouncil; the facts were that the liceuselutd ilten completely withdrawn, and the granting si license to Dr. Moisten was a- perfect new and distinct transaction ; th'at this G , tritiernan was not a partizan, but , rather in opposition to Go vernment ; and that he was suggested, by the agents ofMr. Buck , Ingham themselves, as a proper person to receive.it. Ile main tained that, after the conduct pursued for five years by the Cal cutta Journal, the Government were fully justified in , refusing a has to any of the former proprietors or conductors of that Pa per. Mr. Buckingham, ?pretended to ,have been misled by the opinion that the press was free. Ile could not but know that the of India had never been free fur a single moment. On the ~ye, o rship being .removed,. the exiting regnlations had been imme di ,rely adopted. On theSe grounds, if the Noble Lord moved for . COYfirnitt64lll; should certainly resist . Mr. SCAIILI?.TT thought that much of: the reasoning of the Itisie lion. Gentleman rather favoured the motion for a Com mittee; -.lf, as be believed, there was no other check opan the arbitrary novernmentof India than what existed in tins country, aidie , also believed, no action could be brought such as that which Mr. Buckingham had contemplated With any prospect of siowess; he knew of no other way in whicli on injured party coul.l obtain 'redress than by means of an inquiry in that House. If there afar any truth in the allegationlof the petition that a con siderable part of the copyright of this journal had been taken front the petitioner and given without any consideration to the son,in-law of a mamber, of Council, it was certainly an instance of most corrupt and oppriessive . Conduct on the part of the Indian 'Government. If 'l,l un 4, Noble Friend moved for a Conittee, he should on these grininds - give him his support. Mr. WYNN, in explunatit,m, scull that the licenee hail been altogether taken away:front Mr. I.'L:44oam, and- after the lapse rt'e.iinsideraidulttne , P. lirmicehall,lovn given to Dr. Muston to eltatilish another paper. pA r i;J. SMlTl.l.thought the case ,of Mr. Buckingham a hard one. After the confiscation of his whole property, mid finding bitneelf pressed down by debte, he applied only for something to assiet hint in 'preVitling far hie large family r and w as told that he could laws nothing. There was nothing in England enalogous to this severity of penislimeet. Ifs' hoped Parliainvnt would do justice to this u.nfortonate IW. AtiTliLL s,s elc a feW observations in vindication of the (when Governmeet. A leree majority of the ri.oprietors of Last In di a s toc k had exptc:scd by their votes an untiwonrable opinimme of time claims of Mr. limiclsingitats,, although his moss h ad 1) ,„ ;} tileinied:in their Court with g reat y. The -Petition Wits _then brought up and reed s Lewd :J. 'II.USSF,LL moved that it he referred to a Selves Gersintittees PIIIIIIMORE quite agreoi with his:. Learned Instil, that this House was the quarter in which thus petitioner s ommld most properly seek redress. And if reasonable grounds a com plaint were stated, he should not resist the motion. Maiming, however, in his opinion, could be more unsubstantial than the complaints of the petitioner. It was not pretenshs l that any thing hsd been done but what was in conformity to the law. At the first ptOcation of this journal it was distinguished by the most virulent attacks upon private character, not sparing the most emi nent and respectable persons. It then, as it grew bolder, com menced a series of attacks upon the Government, in the course of, which every public transaction, including the operations of the army, became the successive Subjects of severe animadversion. — He conjured the House to consider the delicate tie by which our Indian empire was held, and then he was sure it would he seen that the Government must be protected from attacks tending to bring it into contempt in the eyes of the natives. Mr. TRANT said he had paid great attention to this case, and however painful it was to his feelings to differ from those 'with whom he usually agreed, he found Inmself under the necessity of voting for the motion of the Noble Lord. The House then 'divided. 46' -3 For the motion Against it - - Majority for the motion SLAVE TRADE, Mr. F. BUXTON said that the motion which be was about to submit to the House related to .the Slave Trade, and not to Slavery. He meant to state that in the. Mauritius the Slave Trade had been regularly and systematically carried on, in opposition to the law of the land. He did not mean to deny that it had been put down at intervals, once by Gen. Hall, and again in 1822 by the low price of Colonial produce ; but with the exception of those two intervals, he would prove, to the House that it had been incessantly kept up. Ile entreated the Right Honourable Secretary for Foreign Affairs, whom *he believed to be sincerely desirous of seeing this traffic abolished, to attend to the evi dence, by which he would prove that it was now systemati rally and incessantly carried 'on in the Mauritius. He would prove by officers high in the Army and Navy that it was not only tolerated hut encouraged in the Colony.—Nr. Secretary CANNIN C-;-" Tolerated by the Government?" —The Honour able Member continued—He could prove it to be tolerated and encouraged by the highest authorities in the Colony. Ile did not wish to make personal charges at present, but if "he was ob liged to say it, he would state that the evidence of these distin guished witnesses went to affect the conduct of the highest per sonage in the Island. The Hon. Member then read the declara tions of a General Officer, two Colonels, and other Military Officers, —and of an Admiral, and other Officers in the Navy, stating cases in which large numbers of slaves had been introduced, and etiola ting that the practice prevailed to a great extent. Ile had other evidence from persons who held high civil offices in the colony to the same effect. Rut he would go still higher, and prove the fact upon the authority of the Governors of the Mauritius. There had been three Governors during the time to which his statement referred ; the Hon. Gentleman opposite, his successor General Hall, and General Darling. The Hon. Gentleman would he able to state to the House what he knew upon the subject. In the diipatches of Gen. Darling he stated the Slave Trade was carried on with a degree of effrontery which reflected disgrace upon the Government; that not a week passed without some slave vessel appearing off the Mauritius ; and that the opuient_portion of the in habitants publicly encouraged the traffic, and persecuted those who 'attempted to interpose with a view of checking it. It was well known that when the French Government had been called upon by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite and his predecessor, to put a stop to the dealing in slaves, they bad frequently pointed to the Mauritius, and declared that it was carried on by this country. Upon the evidence which he had described he did not feel warranted in making any personal accusations, but he thought no one could deny that it fully made out'the grounds of a motion for inquiry. If the Mouse granted n Committee, he would lay proof before them of direct facts which proved the existence of the trade. He would prove that 44 vessel's had been captured off the Mauritius while en gaged in the Slave Trade, and he would prove that many Others had been engaged in it which had never been captured at all. One 'species of his proof would he the depositions of soldiers, who, while stationed on different parts of the island, had witnessed ninety-nine instances of successful disenibatkation of slaves. The deposition of one soldier named Dickenson, described ndimem bllrkatioo which took place upon the estate of 'a - Mr. Tellfair, who was Privete Secretary to the. Hon. Member opposite, while Governor and Public Secretary to the Colony. He would also produce evidence to shew that soldiers had been ordered by their superior officers not to interfere with the landing of slaves. One soldier stated that be went to his Captain, and informed him that he could prove that a disembarkation was then going on; when be was told to mind his business ; and that if he interfered, he would be plinished. Amongst other evidence, should produce that of a Colonel in the Army, who stated, that in conse quence of having endeavoured, by all the means in, his power. to put down these practices, every thing he slid was looked upon with an evil eye, until he was obliged to connive at them.' There were twenty soldiers now in this country, whom he could bring before the Committee, as also the depositions of these. Officers, 'He stood there to prove that there had been ninetY4iinc disembarkations of slaves, and that forty-four vessels had been captured with slaves on board; in all, that there had been 14S vessels employed in the trade, and the number of slaves they would bring from Africa, upon a fair average, would 80,000. One peculiarity of slavery, where the slave trade was parried on, was, that the number of armies greatly predominated over that of the females. In the West Indies, where the trade was abo lished, the numbera were about equal. In the sixteen . West India Islands, the timber of females was 859,000, of ma1ie353,000. But in the Mauritius the difference Was iu the following pro portion—ntlet; 41,000, females 22,000. Another remarkable fact in the slave population of the Mauritius, was, that the nuni• her of foreign slaves so. greatly exceeded that of the Creoles. In the West Indies, the slaves were 'tiniest all Creoles, or natives of the soil. The only evidence they lied of the comparative num bers of Creole slaves and foreign' ones In the Mauritius, was to be found in the , advertise ments'of , the venders ; and from that he found there were three foreign slaves to one Creole, whereas in the West Indies there were more than three Creoles to one foreign slave. One of the greatest ,temptations to the trade in slaves was the growth of anger. In the year •1810 very little sugar was grown in the Mauritius ; in three years the growth bad increased to half a million of pounds • and in 1822 it was thirty Millions-4eing: an increase of sixty-fold. It might be supposed that the cultivation of other articles had been abandoned for that of sugar ; but this WAS not the case, because the produce of other articles had also increaliA It appeared from the returns of the bounties allowed. upon captured slaves, that while scarcely any had been granted for the West Indies, there had been upwards of 2,000 for the Mauritiu--nn immense disproportion, which plainly proved that the trade attest have been curried on with great activity. If the House put all the facts -together, he thought they were conclu aive proof of the active existence of the slave trade in this Colony. AnotherargumentWhich proved it no less forcibly could be drawn from the returns of the registration of slaves. This had always been considered as the greatest barrier to the Slave Trade ; and he would prove,hefore time Committee that the Orders in Council for the registration of slaves had almost all been disregarded in the Mauritius. Li 1818 the population, according to the regis ter, was 87,000 ; in 1817 no registry was kept ; in 1818 there was no registry ; in 1819 the numbers were reduced to 21,000 ; in 1820 there was 110 registry ; and 1821 the number was 7,482. From this it appeared that the registration of 80,000 slaves, the wine of each being 100 L, was omitted; and the penal ties upon. these would amount to eight millions of money. It .was not • for hint to say what the Government should do in respect to these fines; but the iderres who had not been registered, were the property of Government until those tines were paid. And he would state publicly, that all negroem imported since the year 1810, were free by the law of Eng land. He would make another observation as to Mr. Tellfair, whom he had before mentioned. The number of negroes re turned as being upon his estate Was 200. Now he Would bring perswis to Trove that new slaves had been seen upon his pro perty, and that the number was from ten to twelve hundred, in stead of two hundred and sixty. The next view of the subject was• the dreadful treatment of the slaves in the Mauritius.— Wherever the slave trade raged, there the conditions of slavery were Hotbed in tenfold ferocity. When the proper time arrived he should be able to produce such cases of outrageous and detest able atrocity, as he believed lied never before been stated to any Assembly. The Hon. Member then referred to accounts upon which he admitted he could not wholly rely, showing that al though the deaths of slaves in one instance amounted to 6,568 out of 11,000, in the course of six years; the population had gone on increasing. Three years after, the Planters returned the number of slaves it 87,000. Governor Hall proved that 40,000 had not been registered, one of his dispatches the Ham Gentle Man said to the Earl of Liverpool, that he was an enemy to the slave trade, and an hereditary friend of, mankind. The dispatch fur ther went on to say, that as we allowed the continuance of the Aare trad e in Trinidad, after the prtiosingof the Act (which, how. seer, we never did), the inhabitants of Mauritius were a fortiori to the same immunity, as their island would be desolated t , iiuontitomore of the tratie. He was astonished that for :el,. t.ieetleuten ettuld think 'of asking the Earl of Liverpool te give his . suottion to the 'entronission iof a felony.,-(Mr. Buoy GRAM here suggested that slave-trading was not a felony.) lleit it s - Il u en a . s , F a reiern4ie,lif the ties at de; and he had' pr o ved the d 'that the act - did not amount to a fel o n y; but existence of it from the ppvi ancurient ' testimony of disinterested officers-4mM the slal•eilopilittion, - Which was Just such a one as it ought to be in a flourishing state of the trade--free the growth of sugar, and the cruelties which had been exercised in the Sey chelles ;—and he had further proved his case by three arguments, which were strictly mathematical demonstrations. In the year 1821, a new disembarkation of slaves took place. The mode of procuring them was by bodies of armed negroes sent through the country, who were to seize on every unprotected man, woman, or child, whom they met. Among the unfortunate captives at that time was one woman, the sister of an African King. When the crew of the Voyageur landed at Mozambique, on the coast of Africa, they acted in this manner, attacking a village during the night. They killed several of the inhabitants, and carried others away. Captain Moresley, who was reluctant to make disclosures, from an apprehension of giving offence to the traders, though be was assured that Government wished him to give information, had no difficulty in speaking as to the mode of capture. The Arab Slave takers, he said, were ac customed to provide quantities of strong beads, with which they went into the country, where they doomed a village to destruction. Aft;r setting fire to it, it was their practice on the following day to assemble the inhabitants, out of whom they selected the adults, and killed the old anal infirm, and those who were too young to answer their purposes. The next stage of their sufferings was the dreadful journey to the coast, a distance of perhaps 600 miles, which sometimes occupied six months. but was seldom passed in less than 80 days. The horrors of the journey were described in an extract from Captain Gray's Travels in Africa, which stated that on the 10th of February, 1821, the Kaartans went into Bondoo on, a pludering excursion, and bud made 107 prisoners, chiefly women. The men were tied in pairs by the uecks,their hands secured behind their backs, the women by the necks only. Thus tied they were hurried along at a pace little short 'of running, so as to keep up with the horsemen who drove them along, as dro vers do fatigued bullocks. One woman, at least 60 years old, in the most miserable state of emaciation and debility, almost entirely. naked, was compelled to carry a heavy load of water. Whenever she shelved the least inclination to stop, her drover beat her in the most unmerciful manner with a stick. A young woman (who had for the first time become a mother only two days he foreshe was taken, and whose child, being considered too young to be worth saving, was thrown into a burning hut,) after endur ing much torture, implored that an end might be put to her ex istence ; but blows with a leathern horsewhip wpre immediately inflicted on her, which soon made the wretched creature move again. A man also lay down, and neither blows, entreaties, nor threats of death, could induce him to move : he was throWn across a horse, his face down, and with his hands and feet tied under the animal's chest was carried along for some distance.-.- When he continued obstinate, they had recourse to a mode of compulsion, which, though'common among theta, was yet of too disgusting a nature to be described. Bad us was the journey by land, the sea voyage was still worse. According to the state ment of Captain Meresley, the Arab Dows, or vessels were large unwieldy open boats, without a deck, in which . temporary platforms of bamboos were erected, leaving a narrow passage in the centre. The negroes were then stowed, in the literal sense of the word, in, bulk, the first along the floor of the vessel, two adults, side by side, with a boy or girl between, or on them, until the tier was complete. Over them, the first platform was laid, supported an inch or two clear of their bodies, when a second tier was stowed, and so on until they reached above the gunwale of the yesseL The voyage was expected not to ex ceed 24 or 48 hours; but it often happened that a calm or land breeze delayed their progress, and in this ease, a few hours were sufficient to decide the fate of the cargo. The lower portion that died,' could not be removed, but remained till the upper portion also were dead, and then thrown overboard. From a cargo of from two to four hundred thus stowed, it has been known that not a dozen at the end of ten days, have reached Zangibar. On their arrival there, after inspection before the Iman's officer, those who were weak or maimed by the voyage, were left for the coining tide to relieve their miseries. An examination then took place, which for brutality was never exceeded in Smithfield. But the mid dle passage exhibited a scene of wretchedness still more terrific— averse indeed than the moat morbid fancy could conjure up in fic titious tales of horror. The hold for packing the sirs:, was from two to four feet high. Here they were made to zit frith their hands placed between their knees, while the packer : , truek down their legs with a club shod with iron, till they became one mass of living corruption, emitting a stench which would prove fatal to any European, starving for want of food, and feinting for want of a supply of water. He must dismiss the consideration of their sufferings on the passage, and confine himself to a mere statement of their murders ; and ha would contend, that foe every single slave that was brought into the Mauritius, treo others were mur dered. It was a galling reflection to him that their conduct with regard to the Mauritius afforded apology for the Slave Trade of the world. France twice in her official documents, replying to their remonstrances on the subject, bid theta look at home for worse practices than they called on that country to relinquish. In the French Court of Deputies the question was brought on, under the most favourable auspices ; some slave vessels were seized at Nanta ; and petitions were sent in from several towns, pray ing for the abolition of slavery; when, at this critical junc ture, a Deputy, who was himself a Bourbon planter, observed in the House that it was true they dealt extensively in slaves , but then in so doing they acted merely in imitraion of the English, es was evident front the trade of the Manritiug.— The fact thus put forward could not be gainsayed there or here,' and the : question was consequently lost. In what a state of degradation, therefore were they placed, bound by every feeling of honour, and religion, by 'their former srnfessions, to put down the infamous traflie ; and yet they'here appeared not.only criminals themstives s hot uputegisti for the crimes of ethers. It was'only recently that he made ,those surprising discoveries,sand he now, for the first thou, brought than before the Howse : ' If his state s ments were proved :also, he was c ontent to be called t h e greatest that ever ; but if they wire found true,, then ven geance ought to fall on the heads of those wretches who had petruted the enormiti , he enumerated. (Hear.)—lf entered into, an invegation for the redress Of the grievances of which, he eolopleinci!, they thereby retrieved their character; but if they put off the questien to the next year, anti'made their inquiries through the agency of Others, they Might as well give up the whole matter, and never. again ought they to repeat their former professions of hostility to the principles of slavery. He would therefiire conclude by moving—" That a Select Committee be ap pointed to inquire whether the Slave Trade has prevailed at the Mauritius, and to what extent, and the causes thereof, and to re port thereon to the House." Sir H, FARQUHAR said, that up to the present moment he was kept in total ignorance of the scope and tendency of the measure which the Hon. Gentleman intended to bring before the. House—of which, howeVer, according to usual practice, he ought to have given due notice. The Hon. Gentleman had brought forward a motion, which took in the Space of sixteen years ; and he took care to cite the last six years, as marked by acts which bad only occurred in the early part of the whole pe riod. He hed explained his motion of last year as not at all affect ing the characters of ,the Colonists, who had for many years past given up the infamous traffic; and he now said that he did not re fer his motion to the papers for which he had moved. But if,those p a oisxlv ;ere 004, ,the Jim). Gentleman would not have a leg to stand an d it, was clear that he wished to take the Ilouse by ',U prise, and artfully to wind up their feelings, se as to excite a prejua dice against men whoaecharactera were involved in the question. The papers moved for were indeed as volauninons as Chninbers's Dictionary, and he (Sir R. Farquhar) had no opportunity of consulting them ; but he was not aware that any blame at tached itself to the Officers, who acted under his' government. The question having been brought on last year, in , which it was decided that the Slave Trade had ceased to exist at the Mau ritus, if the papers, to which he before alluded, had'been allowed to be printed, they would have furnished the most satisfactory evi dence to that effect. From the Multiplicity or the details into which the Hon. Gentleman had thought proper to enter, he hoped the indulgence of the House would be extended to him, 'if, in the absence of those documents, his memory did not serve hint to an swer with full refutation all the groundless attacks made upon hint. (Hear, hear I and loud cheering.)—The lions Gentleman had failed last year, and though supported by the West India interest, he headed a trifling minority. His present motion he could com pare to nothing but a fishing bill in chancery : by no other name could he designate such en attempt to take the House by surprise, The Hon. Gentleman's attacks against himself he repelled with scorn, as the telum inzbelle et sine ictu. But adverting to the charge against Mr. Tellfair, he could 'say, that that Gentleman was surrounded by numerous enemies, who were empowered to search his plantation for slaves, and who yet dial not make the search, nor carry that power into effect with which the law in vested them, shewing thereby their conviction that the chargewas false. The Hon. Baronet then read a letter from the Chief Judge to the Governor-General of the Mauritius in futherexculpation of Tellfair. Though;he Hun. Merober opposite disclaimed a reference to the papers,he yet appeared to have made '4 very 621- Waive. use of them. It was indeed strange that Government should supply papers for the inspectian of those who did not af ford the 'House the benefits of the information which they conL h tali ad nf Ue L eess iP t t l!at he did not communicate F l o o r t i i t me should be remembered thatattd vas v no a s v G e;t i l e e n eett i t u h s e th contents. ofhi r esi li pc t et i rs ae fo f ir a n c t t facts : fi t which lie referred he came up to the period of 1819 or 1820 ; but he took no notice of the'subse quent time. As to the observat ion which related to the c onduct of Captaip Ly n on th e coast of Africa , the real case was thi s:— The slaves were the propertY of the inhabitants, and when the latter were about to leave the plaice, it was considered cruel to leave the slaves behind, who were sure to be murdered by the new occupants ; it was therefore deemed right that the slaves should go with their proprietors to the Mauritius, where their good treatment was secured under the direction of the gallant Shomberg, and himself. As to the Madagascar slaves, the Edi tors of the Edinburgh Review had published an apology 'for the remarks which they had addressed to him on the subject. He strongly protested against the plan of confounding the Sey chelles with' the Mauritius. The Seychelles was an Archipe lago, 'consisting of many small islands, at least 1,000 miles dis tant from Mauritius—in fact as distant from the latter as Gibral tar was from Downing-street. It was therefore impossible for bins in his government at Mauritius, without a,navy, or any re pressive force, to be responsible fur what was going on at Sey chelles ; and equally absurd was it to expect any such responsibi lity, as it would be to hold his Majesty's Government at home responsible for acts committed at Gibraltar. The Honourable Gentleman stated that 40,000 more slaves were registered than existed at Mauritius. Now he (Sir R. Farquhar) had declared last year that several debarkations of slaves bad taken place; their number was not known, but he did not credit the statement, that it amounted to 4,000. Still he admitted that several fraudulent introductions of slaves had been effected. By. the tax-rolls, be was aware that their number was 80,000, when the English took possession of the island. In the year 1819, from 7 to 10,000 were taken off by a cholera morbus ; but with that exception the slave population was, stationary in point of numbers. The difference in the price of sugar did not in fact touch the question at all; for if due allowance were made for a depreciation of 35 per cent., which existed in the currency, at the time when he first assum ed the Government, it would be found that there was scarcely any real alteration in the price. The fleet which a certain Colonel was said to have mistaken for an invasion, turned out to be nothing more than two small vessels, containing (not 2,000 but) about 150 slaves each--(Hear)—which ships were after wards prosecuted and condemned.—(Hear.) —The fact was, the Colonel only offered his apprehensions as an excuse for his conduct in entering the houses of others at a late hour of the night. From the moment when the British flag flew in the Mauritius the Slave Trade was abolished ;. but in the opinion which he had expressed as to the rights of property residing in the French inhabitants, he was borne out in the decision of the Admiralty Court at the . Cape, and also by that of the High Court of Admiralty here.' He begged to refer the Hon. Member to the statement of the law officers of the Mauritius as to those points, and above all to the deposition of Sir Lowry Cole. The Colonial Government bad done every thing it could, but then there were parties who were engaged in open hostility to the views of the Colonial Government. There was a set of privateering fellows, who felt that their interests were opposed to ours, and who made every effort to counteract the resolutions. The Colonial Government did not hesitaie to meet the question. But unfortunately the Go vernment of the Isle of Bourbon did not legalize our opinion as respected that colony, and so legalize the trade. He hiniself bought a schooner and other craft, for the purpose of putting it down, until be received the order from the Admiralty. The grand mis take was, that it ought to be taken as the basis of the grand pro gressive principle. He would not hesitate to assert that these measures, had the most important effect on slaves. The authorities for the defence were in his mind as respectable as those called on by the Hon. Mover. Some of the communications with which the reform advocates were now armed, were found domiciliatki at the Rampant Horse in the Borough.—(A laugh.)—lndeed part of the communications he had had with 'Colonial Governments had been made under very unpropitious circumstances. This point of traffic was in fact ascertained to be the strong hold of the French Trade in Slavery. The Hon. Member concluded by ob serving, that nothing could be more unfair than the attack made on the Government of the Mauritius, and hoped that the House would not acquiese in any thing which should in the least degree involve the Colonial Government of that day. Mr. W. HORTON defended at some length the conduct of the Governor of the Mauritius. He begged to ask the Honour able Mover, if he believed the trade was carried on alter the year 1820? BUXTON.-- ,, I do; and I believe I can prove it at tour bar." _ _ _ _ Mr. WILMOT HORTON resumed, and said he should be glad to have the charge investigated thoroughly ; but he believed this could not_ take place but on a thorough examination of the question. After a short reply from Mr. BUXTON, and a few words from Dr. LUSHINGTON, . . Mr. Secretary CANNING rose to state his acquiescence in part of the motion of the Hon. Member, though he could not but object strongly to the motion so far as it reflected on individual character. As to the general object for obtaining information on the subject of the Slave Trade, so far as it existed in Africa, in despite of the present regulations, he must say that in candour he could actiuiesce in the motion.—(Cheers.) Mr. BROUGHAM observed the House had no option but to proceed with the motion. In the Colonies of Bermuda he be lieved the Slave Trade was extirpated. After a few words from Sir RoRERT FARQUHAR and Mr. Burroti, the motion was carried, and a Committee appointed accordingly. IMBECILE PERSONS. Mr. R. MAPTIN moved for leave to bring in a Bill for es, exempting all persons labouring under severe illness from the or dinary operation of law, or in fact from arrest. The Arrtmn•av-Gt NERAL could not assent to the bringing in of the Bill, except stronger 'grounds were• shewn for its intro duction. ' Aftev a few words from lUr. PEEL the motion was negatived. : Sir It. Ilk;no.N s wished that the Warehousing of Corn Bill should stand, over• until Thursday next. Mr. Secretary CANNING moved the second reading of the arelionSiug deem Bill. : Lord MILTON opposed the Bill at some length. Mr. HOLME SUMNER said, that it was his stedfast inten tion to divide the House on the subject, as he had promised to do, and ,to move the postponement of the question to a future 'period. Mr. Secretary CANNING appealed to the House whether this mode of proceeding was not most likely to injure the cause the lion. Members had most at heart.—(Loud cheers.)---To the first part of 'the proposition there was not any dissentient 'voice. The Second question he should not press with the House:--(Loud cheers.) Sir E. KNATCHBULL could not lose sight of the interest he had all along espoused. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE expressed a hope that his Hon. Friend would not persevere in his amendment. Mr. H. SUMNER said, although other Hon. Members had acquiesced in the 11111, he had not; he saw no reason why the question should not go a division. The Howie then divided— For the Adjournment Against it Majority - - - 172 On our return to the Gallery the Bill was read a second time, and committed for to-morrow. Mr. Secretary *CANNING then fixed the second reading of the Importation of Corn Bill fur Thursday, The other Orders of the Day having been disposed of, the House adjourned at Twelve o'Clock. PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDING HOUSE OF COMMON S ._-(TIIIS DA V.) NOTICE% OF MOTIONS. I. Lehi John Russell--Resolutions relating to Bribery and.Cor. ruption at Elections. 2. Mr. Peter i‘loore—To move a Grant of Public Money for the relief of ;Deal distress. ORDERS OF TIIF. DAY. 1. Lord Lismore's Divorce Bill—Committee, Counsel an 'Witnesses. 2. Johnston's Divorce Bill—Committee, Counsel and \VD noises. 3. Themes Watermen Regulation Bill—Second reading. 4. Bankers (Scotland) Bill—Further consideration of Report 5. Warehoused Corn Bill—Committee. Benefice's (Ireland) Bill—Third rending. 7. A lehouses I .iceming 8. Debtor and Creditor Arrangement Lill—Report. NOTICES GIVEN YESIIM.DAY• Hume—Ltill to render lawful the'exnort of 31achinery. Mal 18. 1. Mr. I...lttiond 'tiTodelicaise--Address relative to tile cotmnutti cations that finite been received. trout his Lttajesty's Consuls abroad, onAlte subject:of tho prices of Foreign torn. 2. Mr. ttorney-Oeneral—ilill founded upon 'the Report of the colthhissioners appointed to inquire into th e P ract i ce o f t h e Court of Chancery. - 3, .1, John r, fa Report of the Chancery•Com iniatsiou.to a.Committee of this House. ANTicirATIoNs.--The marriage ceremony ..was put a stop to, some time ago, by bridegroom, a sailor, abruptly declaring that he did not care '.:kow touch better his wife might turn out, but he was predetermined, if she ever grew worse, to dispose of her as soon a s he could, and would tell no lies in Church about it. No arguments would prevail on him to plight his troth, till the father of the girl engaged to take her home, and love and cherish her for the husband, iu case she r eally g rew worse after marriage. PERUVIAN PAPERS. 'From the Garda dcl Gobierno Extraordinaria, of January 23, 1825.) CAPITULATION OF CALLAO. `" The General in Chief (Head Quarters, Bellavista, 22d January, 1826) to the Minister of War and Marine, Brigadier-General Don Juan Salazar : " SENOR MINISTER-4 have the honour to inclose to your Ex cellency the Capitulation concluded with the General in 'Chief Don Jose Ramon Rodil, ratified by both parties, in order that your Excellency may forward the nine to the Council of Govern ment for their information. _ _ " The Deputies assembled in the covered way before the for- . tress of Callao, to treat of a capitulation between the besieging army, and to put an end to the war of Peru—to wit, on the part of Brigadier-General Bartolome Salem, commanding in 'chief ' the besieging army, Colonel Juan Ilingrot, commanding in chief the united squadron, and Lieut.-Colonel Don Manuel Larenas; on the part of Brigadier D. Jose Ramon Rodil, Governor of the Fort of Callao, Lieutenant-Colonels D. Francisco Duro, and D. 'Bernardo Villazon, the former commanding the Artillery, and the latter commanding, ad interim, the Engineers, being convinced of the necessity of terminating the disasters of a war which has for so long a time oppressed this country, have agreed on the following articles : " 1. There shall be granted an amnesty, or general pardon, to all and each of the individuals, of whatever class or condition, as , well military and ecclesiastical as civil, and consequently their persona shall be inviolable, whatever may be the services they have rendered to the King.--Answer—Granted, with respect to their past conduct, up to the surrender of the fortress. " 2. The Chiefs, Officers, and persons in official employments , who may prefer returning to Spain rather than staying in dile , country, may do so ; and a passage shall be found for them et the expence of the Republic, on board of English transports,— Answ.—Granted, on the understanding that the persons in official employ (other than Military Officers) do not exceed three. "3. As there are some few ,individuals of the land and sea , service (common men), belonging, to. the expeditionary corps of the Peninsula, who are desirous of returning to their homes, a passage shall be given to those who wish it, at the expence of the State of Peru, as far as Rio Janeiro"; and the others shall be per mitted to depart to the provinces of Emir birth.—Ans w • -- Granted, with respect to the Europeans. • The Americans meet be enrolled in the regiments of the besieging Army. " 4. An English transport shall be permitted to com e into the Bay to receive her stores at the moment of. the ratificati on of the capitulation; and the Chiefs, Officers, common soldiers and sailors, shall embark in her, immediately when the guards a re relieved by the besieging army. This vessel shall serve either to convey them to Spain, or to keep them on board until some other mode of passage may be found for them, according as may agreed between the Governor and the Commander of the English frigate.—Answ. The embarkation of the stores must be effected after the ratification, when all the posts of the fortress shall have stores, o been relieved, and a corresponding recognition made by perle commissioned for that purpose, iu presence of the owners of the aforesaid Governmentfrigate hisof thßerißetaninmichl Majesty, icof Peru shall depos t hefit is '5. amount of the passage-money of all the individui in s condition to proceed inunediately to the Peninsula ; i n order to. obviate inconveniencies, the Captain Commandant o f the Phi frigate specifying the charge for each, provided that their P. . sage takes place under his flag; th e Governor being bound pay the who Britoil, are ° n' give, at the time of ratifying the treaties , a class ed detail, bY name, of the persons so situated, and to allow a cominissary 'of the besieging army to pass them in review, in order to ascertain their existence.—Ans. The Government of the Republic will provide; as soon as the ratification of this treaty sh all be verified, the amou_n necessary, in the judgment of the Commandants in Ch ief of th,ee united squadron, and the Captain of t h e En g l i sh frigate, ." Briton, for the passage of all the individua ls comprised fn the t de tails presented by the Commissioners of the fortress, and thoiiii; dividuals will select the fl ag, and the means which they may t best for their passage. tnlation, and from that moment willremain, as a hostage on of her, until the troops of the besieging army shall take posseseetoen s, 6. The Governor will ratify, on hoard the Briton, thebc:arpi(-1, The ratification shall take place in th of the fortrm, in the manner which shall be stipidated ; a n d ..,e1: iii afterwards hold himself ready to depart as soon as Fossi l f___,. order to render an account to to hie Catholic Majesty.l feseee... the completion of vernor is required to witness its surrender, on which is to do which he may embark with that part of the troops se so, in the' English transport destined for that purPo • shall pass . "7. A General of Brigade of the besieging is ratified as hostage on board of the Briton, as soon as the treat ' from this by the Governor of the fortress, arid la , shall be freed r obligation on the fulfilment of Articles e fortrees ate hGo - The and hoseages will be taken by any of the contracting parties. their :: 8, The Governors, Chief., and Officer s, shall , uniform and swords, and shall he allowed to take wit mee 0. "" _ vents corresponding to their ranks, as well as such do they 9 . To theave.—Answer—Granted Chiefs, O ffi cers , troops. and all clasees. .. an r ed , by tionaries, who shall remain in the country, shall he g.' _ re " the Government of the Republic, passports , or permisoou, also turn to their homes, or whitheraoever they rosy think 7 e ct to at the expence a the same.—Answer—G ranted, with re 9 to the passports and safe conduct. tr ith " 10. The Chiefs, O ffi cers, and troo p s, shall carry a lo ng them their clothes, money, books, furnituve, accoutrementscs,' subject to a previous inspection by au officer of the besiegine7 l „ _ if such be thought necetwary.—Answ.—Granted, with besieging other articles belonging to them, and their tespective permitted to take away half the value of ,their property in u ,e place—the service of plate belonging to each class respectively', l" vision, that in neglect to jewels and money, being understood as comprehended under this exception. • be , " 11. The Chiefs, Officers, and Functionaries, who neaL willing to enter into the service of the Republic, shall be athlo Pe " 12. The property, real and personal, of Ecclesiastics 01 into it, retaining their respective ranks. all classes, and of the inhabitants, shall he guaranteed to o e Answ. G rou t e d, subject :to the regulations of the law of t he March, 1825,. with respect to property existing outside o fort. ll " 13. Six months shall be granted to the inhabitants, It s ',;11 serular as ecclesiastic, and to functionaries of all classes, "_ sit e their landed property, and they shall he permitted to reti r ees, their families and goods, to Whatever country they and the same rights shall extend to' the widows of om'wl. o of have died in the fort. —Anew. Granted, subject to th e ,i O O6. the 2d of March, 1825, aforesaid, in all its extent and rela; to " 14. The inhabitants shell not be haressed, nor s" l4 ,„ ec siles- -- _Answ.t_heynes jlectialleonl. any greater contribution than other subjects` of the 11- Anew. Granted. theh at " " 15. The individuals of the eection de Couflail l '„ ao " to 1)° talon of workmen and guerillas of I.iipa and chancoY , who c onsidered as militia, except the officers of the secon d cork t ; their are veterans, and they shall enjoy all the 'benefite fa lling respective chases by this treattss---Answ. Granted. ones , t he "' 10. The ' slave ; iho are serving p lov lrioinal l Y a fr°ttY rho troops, return to their la;rful master, and shall redid'" Gr ° t ed, in respect to those enrolled during the siege. re dries" e " 17. The wonndeel and :d k of the garrison, gable of travelling by laird o~ .. c;, -!mil .be maintiijned andcycent, care of at the expence of tie: ; and when C O im' ' , to t he shall enjoy the same privileges as the healthy , tigree a " b e loeg' Articles agreed 'on for the class to which they respectivell —Ans. Granted. , 01°I " 18. Th e co l ours o f the of the In fi nite Don s r s er age ge Arequipa, shall be allowed m reoved along with the el of the Goveneor.—Anew. Granted. libe rty lifter " 19. The prisoners, on either side, ;hall be set at the ratification.—Anew. Granted. tores, silt" " 20. A Lona .fide surrender shall he made of th e s Go cannon, mortars, howitzer% the apparaties of the mint, ;: ri me, vernment press, the archives, workshops, ma gasines, gut tr % e a rbv, in the state in which they at present are in St. Migue e ' time 0 1 nal, etc. in the outer batteries and in th is fortress, at ° sic p ravi' Capitulation, without damping the pwder, destroy.ieg ",,,,,a es or shine, vitiating the write, injuring the' arms, leaving the lighted match in the tnagazines or chambers, end time of the capitulation being understieel to' be cot . le t o di the act of ra ti fication . --Artists. Ace pt as coofonT i ' ig cav ity ptli ne ! , , l : o ' w it; laws of war and honour, as practised iu the whole of lation. " 21. The Republic of Peru shall take upon it sel . f . th t e o ok P" e " tions and debts incurred by thi , Government sitice it_ 40 4 seseion of tlmse fortrite, Frb. 20, 15214.L-Atiswert .17010 tress with prOpriety and lionour.--Asswer : .Grentesl:cal t d's " 23. The Governor shall take with him his fe , inr of other,2 9. t . 0 cCoonmeinutidoeitohneecsusrl:.:nlid):re aniai ttot ta l kr t n rri g trit)e4co,:ifto.Bre,bf ess minutes of the captures made during his time, 0 . t ri v i' t pay 'count to his Catholic. DrajestY ; and shall 'entrren a l , „ t o be necessary for that " 24. The deserters from the besieging army to the purpose. —Answer : Grante: s e al